Known are nail clipping devices useful for manicuring or pedicuring purposes. Such devices typically comprise a pair of resilient metal arm members secured together in overlapping engagement at respective first ends of the members and having at second ends thereof blades or shearing elements movable upon actuation of a handle to a position where the blades are set in nail shearing engagement. A fingernail or toenail positioned between the blades can be severed upon actuation of the handle.
A disadvantage of conventional nail clipping devices is that they permit the scattering of nail clippings, such scattering caused by the manner in which the blades or shearing elements operate. Specifically, the blades, when moved to a clamping position, compress the nail, thus flattening its natural curvature. When the nail is clipped, it snaps back to its natural shape and is ejected from the clipper in an unpredictable trajectory.
In order to solve the foregoing disadvantage associated with conventional nail clipping devices, there has been provided receptacles and the like associated with the clippers in which the clippings are prevented from scattering by collecting them for disposal. Such improved nail clipping devices are most often typified in one of two forms.
In the first form, the clipper is encased by a sleeve, that together with the upper and lower arm members, form a compartment to catch nail clippings. U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,090, to Grassi issued Oct. 11, 1988 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,521, issued Sep. 29, 1992 to Soo Han are both examples of this type. While both of these inventions prevent the scattering of clippings, they both rely on a removable sleeve as a central part of their design. It is this removable sleeve that is objectionable in that it can be lost or damaged while attempting to empty the receptacle of clippings. The sleeve could also inadvertently become removed from the nail clipper causing the clippings to scatter and obviating the purpose of the invention.
In the second form, the clipper utilizes integral side walls, instead of a removable sleeve, to catch and retain clippings. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,031 to Chen issued Sep. 30, 1986, for example, a receptacle is formed by upper and lower arm members. The lower arm member having integral side walls extending vertically towards the upper arm member, and a depression in its midsection where clippings can collect. The principal drawback with this invention is that clippings must be emptied through the front of the device between the cutting blades. Clippings can easily become wedged between the upper and lower arm members or behind the shearing surface, requiring the user to shake the device in order to remove the clippings. This is undesirable because some clippings will be permanently retained in the device and others will discharge in unpredictable trajectories from the device while being shaken, scattering the nail clippings.